What an incredible year! 2017 smashed records as an investor’s dream year. While overshadowed by the cryptocurrency explosion, led by bitcoin’s 1,300% plus gains, the major stock market indexes surged to all-time highs. The Nasdaq jumped 26%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 22%, and the S&P 500 soared over 17%, creating massive wealth among investors. As expected, stock market fever gripped the nation. Usually cautious institutional players threw caution to the wind, as evidenced by the volatility index plunging nearly 22%. The unwinding of derivative hedges, designed to protect against market corrections, became common as the big players… Read More

What an incredible year! 2017 smashed records as an investor’s dream year. While overshadowed by the cryptocurrency explosion, led by bitcoin’s 1,300% plus gains, the major stock market indexes surged to all-time highs. The Nasdaq jumped 26%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 22%, and the S&P 500 soared over 17%, creating massive wealth among investors. As expected, stock market fever gripped the nation. Usually cautious institutional players threw caution to the wind, as evidenced by the volatility index plunging nearly 22%. The unwinding of derivative hedges, designed to protect against market corrections, became common as the big players piled into stocks.  The bullish excitement goes far beyond the stock market.  It appears we are on the verge of a total economic paradigm shift. Cryptocurrencies, once thought of as just imaginary currency, are in the process of turning mainstream. Major institutions and retailers are in the process of implementing the many benefits of blockchain and cryptocurrency into their operations.  #-ad_banner-#The shift from centrally-backed paper currency to a decentralized, digital currency backed by the immutable proofs of blockchain will change our world in ways not even imagined.  Not to mention the thriving small business sector in the United States. Fueled… Read More

The stock market is a tricky beast. It seems to wildly reward some investors while others struggle to turn a consistent profit.  It almost appears that winning investors possess some magical or psychic ability to earn long-term wealth from the fickle stock market. Even in massive bull runs like last… Read More

You don’t need me to tell you it’s been a good year in the market. As I write this, the S&P 500 has rallied 21.5% year-to-date. A truly remarkable return for what is now the second-longest bull market in history. As a reader of StreetAuthority Daily, you’ve likely been enjoying the ride right alongside thousands of like-minded investors who’ve benefitted from the bull market (and our experts’ picks). —Sponsored Link— You Know What You Want To keep more of your own money. Make better than average returns… and fewer mistakes. VectorVest makes it easy to… Read More

You don’t need me to tell you it’s been a good year in the market. As I write this, the S&P 500 has rallied 21.5% year-to-date. A truly remarkable return for what is now the second-longest bull market in history. As a reader of StreetAuthority Daily, you’ve likely been enjoying the ride right alongside thousands of like-minded investors who’ve benefitted from the bull market (and our experts’ picks). —Sponsored Link— You Know What You Want To keep more of your own money. Make better than average returns… and fewer mistakes. VectorVest makes it easy to make better decisions. To stay in control as the markets move up and down, with at-a-glance guidance on what and when to buy, sell and hold. Analyze any stock free. Get your free report. Now, with all that said, I want to do something important before we flip the calendar to 2018. I want to take this opportunity to hear straight from our premium experts and what they have to say about 2017 in their newsletters — what worked, what didn’t, and what they are advising their readers to expect in 2018.  Let’s get to it…… Read More

A joint committee from the House and Senate has agreed on a reconciled tax proposal that combines the two packages from each chamber.  While stocks have jumped more than 5% since mid-November in anticipation of the new tax package, a look at individual industries shows there may still be time to position ahead of the companies that stand to disproportionately benefit. Besides lowering the overall corporate tax rate, the bill includes several other key proposals that could drive corporate earnings for 2018 and beyond. That means some industries and even specific companies could see an even… Read More

A joint committee from the House and Senate has agreed on a reconciled tax proposal that combines the two packages from each chamber.  While stocks have jumped more than 5% since mid-November in anticipation of the new tax package, a look at individual industries shows there may still be time to position ahead of the companies that stand to disproportionately benefit. Besides lowering the overall corporate tax rate, the bill includes several other key proposals that could drive corporate earnings for 2018 and beyond. That means some industries and even specific companies could see an even bigger boost.  In fact, three components of the new tax deal caught my eye as particularly beneficial, and I’m using them to rebalance my own portfolio. #-ad_banner-#​Broad Changes In The New Tax Bill The broadest change in the new tax package is the reduction in the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21% starting next year. Companies would pay a 15.5% rate on foreign income held as cash or an 8% rate on income invested in property or equipment. Owners of pass-through businesses will be allowed to deduct 20% from their business income before paying taxes at their personal… Read More

Professional investors utilize a wide variety of tactics and techniques to manage their portfolios. The specific strategies and methods are often as different and unique as each investor.  However, I have discovered a strategy that is nearly universal to winning stock market investors. This approach is what allows hedge funds,… Read More

As an experienced investor, I know there are times to employ different strategies when buying and selling stocks. Two of my favorite strategies are to buy stocks at deep discounts to their intrinsic values (value investing). I also love to look for stocks at the center of some long-term mega-trend. These stocks I buy and hold for decades. Less commonly, I pay attention to what retail investors (individual investors buying for their personal accounts) are doing. But in today’s market, I’m doing the exact opposite. You see, retail investors often follow the herd mentality and end up buying and selling… Read More

As an experienced investor, I know there are times to employ different strategies when buying and selling stocks. Two of my favorite strategies are to buy stocks at deep discounts to their intrinsic values (value investing). I also love to look for stocks at the center of some long-term mega-trend. These stocks I buy and hold for decades. Less commonly, I pay attention to what retail investors (individual investors buying for their personal accounts) are doing. But in today’s market, I’m doing the exact opposite. You see, retail investors often follow the herd mentality and end up buying and selling stocks at just the wrong times. Many professional investors use a contrarian strategy. That is, they buy when retail investors are selling and sell when the herd is buying.  #-ad_banner-#Now, watching the crowd is not something I spend a lot of time doing. But when certain economic metrics get to extreme levels, it becomes critical to monitor conditions that might indicate retail investors are in full herd mentality. To this point, several metrics are starting to show extreme, or near extreme, levels of greed. This indicates that retail investor sentiment is heating up — potentially indicating that… Read More

What separates successful investors from the vast majority who can’t even match market returns?  I’ve spent a lot of time looking into this. While successful stock market investors use a variety of tactics, follow differing market philosophies, and have varying temperaments, one thing remains the same: they stick to a defined set of rules. Having the ability to develop consistent and unwavering investing rules in the face of adversity is the key to stock market success. Most investors don’t approach the stock market in a systematic rule-based way. They make investing decisions based on emotion, fear, and greed.  This is… Read More

What separates successful investors from the vast majority who can’t even match market returns?  I’ve spent a lot of time looking into this. While successful stock market investors use a variety of tactics, follow differing market philosophies, and have varying temperaments, one thing remains the same: they stick to a defined set of rules. Having the ability to develop consistent and unwavering investing rules in the face of adversity is the key to stock market success. Most investors don’t approach the stock market in a systematic rule-based way. They make investing decisions based on emotion, fear, and greed.  This is particularly true during losing streaks. Every investor, regardless of skill level, experiences losing periods. What separates successful investors is that they stick to their rules despite strong urges to deviate and shoot for short-term gains.  #-ad_banner-#Despite differences in specific methodologies, there are overriding themes that every single winning stock market investor follows. I have distilled the basis of every winning investor’s plan into five easy to understand rules. Almost All Successful Investors Do These 5 Things 1. Diversify Diversifying across multiple assets, from stocks in different sectors to other types of securities, dramatically reduces your chances of catastrophic loss. Read More

With tax reform zooming through Congress, bitcoin reaching historic heights and the markets continuing one of the longest bull-runs in history, one extremely important headline went largely unnoticed in November. The potential change in the law isn’t as sexy as the 10-fold increase in Bitcoin or the changes to taxes. In fact, many consumers probably don’t even know what the existing law does. That doesn’t mean the coming change won’t have huge consequences for a group of companies, with some on the winning side as well as a few losers.  Surprisingly, shares of the companies on both sides haven’t moved… Read More

With tax reform zooming through Congress, bitcoin reaching historic heights and the markets continuing one of the longest bull-runs in history, one extremely important headline went largely unnoticed in November. The potential change in the law isn’t as sexy as the 10-fold increase in Bitcoin or the changes to taxes. In fact, many consumers probably don’t even know what the existing law does. That doesn’t mean the coming change won’t have huge consequences for a group of companies, with some on the winning side as well as a few losers.  Surprisingly, shares of the companies on both sides haven’t moved much since the announcement that the government would seek to change the law.  #-ad_banner-#That sets the stage to front-run the change, giving you a chance to align your portfolio with the winning side. I’m talking about net neutrality. What Is Net Neutrality And Why Should Investors Care? Net neutrality can seem like a confusing legal and technical topic, but the basic idea and implications are simple. Laws passed in 2015 reclassified broadband internet as a public utility under the Communications Act of 1934. This was important because it prohibited internet service providers (ISPs) from discriminating how they delivered the… Read More

Growing up in the decidedly hardscrabble union town of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, becoming a millionaire was nothing but fantasy. Not only was there very little information on how to reach the lofty goal, but neither myself nor any of my friends actually knew a real millionaire. It was just something we read about in magazines or saw in movies — nearly everyone had the same economic status in our blue collar neighborhood.  My uncle and grandfather were small-time real estate investors, and they gave me my first exposure to investment markets. But the real turning point for me was being invited… Read More

Growing up in the decidedly hardscrabble union town of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, becoming a millionaire was nothing but fantasy. Not only was there very little information on how to reach the lofty goal, but neither myself nor any of my friends actually knew a real millionaire. It was just something we read about in magazines or saw in movies — nearly everyone had the same economic status in our blue collar neighborhood.  My uncle and grandfather were small-time real estate investors, and they gave me my first exposure to investment markets. But the real turning point for me was being invited to a Charles Givens seminar while in high school.  Charles Givens was one of the first traveling motivational speakers focused on how the average person could build wealth. I was impressed seeing him pull up in a Rolls Royce with his staff in tow. After the seminar, I was fortunate to chat with Mr. Givens. I had met an actual millionaire!  Fast-forward several decades and being a millionaire is commonplace. Today, with nearly 11 million millionaires in the United States, some pundits claim that being a millionaire is the new middle class.  #-ad_banner-#The Wall Street rally of the past year… Read More

Last week, I told you about our latest report — The Top Stocks For 2018 — and how our subscribers have found it to be the most consistently profitable piece of annual research we publish. I even gave away one of the picks from this year’s report. (To read the issue, go here.) —Sponsored Link— Who Will Emerge As The Largest Marijuana Grower In Canada? As of July 2018, Marijuana will be fully legal in Canada and cannabis stocks are starting to fire back up as a result. But which will emerge as the giants of… Read More

Last week, I told you about our latest report — The Top Stocks For 2018 — and how our subscribers have found it to be the most consistently profitable piece of annual research we publish. I even gave away one of the picks from this year’s report. (To read the issue, go here.) —Sponsored Link— Who Will Emerge As The Largest Marijuana Grower In Canada? As of July 2018, Marijuana will be fully legal in Canada and cannabis stocks are starting to fire back up as a result. But which will emerge as the giants of industry and which will be flash in the pan stocks that are left behind in the bubble? Read this special report to learn more. I know everyone likes a free stock pick, but I really want to drive home just exactly why we believe this report is so important. Because the truth is, it’s not just about the stock picks.  It’s about the investing principles that lead to the stock picks. #-ad_banner-#To recap, I said that we like to focus on companies with the following three traits: 1) Companies that enjoy huge, long-term, advantages over their… Read More